Pulcinella's Brood

""This fascinating study, written with riveting verve, assurance, and élan, is essential reading for anyone interested in popular culture and festivity in early modern Europe. Indeed, it is essential reading for anyone thinking about how popular cultures sustain social and political force through fungible forms of exchange. Pulcinella moves here ephemerally over historical time - through bodies, social groups, consciousness, and memories - to manifest repeatedly in surprising and arresting ways. From the square to the stage to the page, from representation to Realpolitik, Raizen's Pulcinellas emerge in a variety of domains not just as indices of identity and desire but as vectors at once of cultural stasis and cultural mobility.""--Martha Feldman, Ferdinand Schevill Distinguished Service Professor of Music and Theater and Performance Studies, University of Chicago ""Pulcinella's Brood is a delectable feast of texts, images, and contexts for this strange and wonderful 'whateverman' of the commedia dell'arte. The agility and range of Karen T. Raizen's mind nicely matches Pulcinella's fertile and irrepressible adaptability, while also providing fascinating reflections on popular culture in the Enlightenment. Thanks to this book, the distinguished field of 'Pulcinella studies' thrives!""--Robert Henke, Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature, Washington University in St. Louis ""Karen T. Raizen's study is a tour de force. The research is broad and deep, and the style is vivid and alive with insights. Pulcinella's Brood makes a major contribution to the field.""--Linda L. Carroll, Professor Emerita of Italian, Tulane University